Grandma's Gift for Momo
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Little Momo has a wish for Christmas, however, can her granny grant the one wish? AU setting.


_Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach. AU setting._

**Grandma's Gift for Momo**

Granny had to sigh, as she remembered the good old days of Japan. The times where family was important , and the Western culture hadn't infiltrated the old ways as much as it now had. Those lives around her were now drastically different then they had been before.

She had raised all of her children to be good and well behaved, without problems with their self, or so she liked to believe. Yet she had known that one of the children had been ostracized by everyone but his elder sister.

Sometimes, she wondered if her husband had left because of the fact she had bore him their youngest child, a silver haired child, with pale, teal eyes. She and her children had gone back to her maiden name when the man had left.

That child had run away from home at the age of eight, that would have been seven years ago, the night before she had to move into an apartment house, because her eldest son said it was safer. It was almost as if the boy had felt like he was escaping something.

She preferred Japanese buildings to the Western one like she lived in now, but the fact was, the two-room apartment, plus bathroom, was easier to take care of, while her son rented out her old home for a modest sum.

Three years ago, her eldest daughter, and her husband, had died in a car wreck, leaving behind their year old daughter. Family had objected, but she dearly insisted on taking care of her grand baby Momo, who was left orphaned.

In some ways, it made up for the disappearance of her baby, her young one, and life returned to her, as she raised Hinamori Momo to be a respectable Japanese lady, one that people would come to respect and admire.

This year, Momo-chan was old enough to help decorate the Christmas tree. It was only the two of them, as the children always forgot, or preferred visiting their spouse's family. And ironically, this was one tradition that the old lady had come to like.

As Momo stood on her tippy toes to hang an ornament on the tree, her face twisted in concentration, her grandma smiling at her delicate charge. "Today is the twentieth of December. What does Momo-chan want me to get her for Christmas?"

"Let's see… that means that Christmas is one… two… three… four… five… six… seven… seven days away!"

"Try, Christmas Eve is four days away," the grandmother smiled.

"Oh… well… I would like a baby brother for Christmas," the girl smiled.

"Momo… I can't give you that," her grandmother smiled sadly.

"How about a baby sister?" the rosy cheeked girl had a very hopeful look in her eyes.

"I…" suddenly the doorbell wrung, interrupting what she was about to say, and Momo ran to get it. "Hinamori! What did I tell you about answering the door for strangers!"

However, the door opened up, much to her dismay. She didn't expect the squeal of delight that suddenly could be heard from the doorstep. "Grandma! My Christmas wishy came true!"

This caused the old woman to hurry to the door, to see a small bundle, and a package left on the doorstep, out in the cold, while it was snowing. She scooped the small bundle up, realizing what it was. "Oh my… Momo-chan… please take the package inside."

"All right… I got my baby brother. It is a baby brother, and not a sister, right?" the little girl asked.

Granny wiggled the cloth away, revealing a small babe, with soft, soft skin, naked with no clothing on him. "Who would have left you like this, and a newborn too…"

Her eyes caught sight of the small tykes white hair, and her eyes darted up. She almost thought she saw a silver haired youth disappearing around the corner, but she saw the person only for a few minutes.

She stepped inside her home, and was greeted by two big eyes, and a huge smile, "Gram Gram, is it really a baby brother and not a baby sister?"

"Yes… it is a baby boy…" the old woman smiled. "Could you find a soft blankie for me to lay him on?"

The small brown haired girl hurried off, to go and get one. She came back, hauling her favorite blankie, a soft pink one, with kitty cats for the pattern. The grandmother laid the babe on the blanket and told the little girl to watch, and not to touch.

She then went to her closet, and dug out some of the things that she had saved since her boys were at that age, then hauled the small box into the living room. She then opened it up. "Here Momo-chan… pick an outfit out for him, while I prepare a diaper."

"Prepare a diaper… what about that box of supplied?" Momo asked.

"You mean the package that was left with him?" the grand mum went over, and opened the box, to find baby formula, and disposable diapers. She would have preferred cloth ones, but she might as well use them.

She went over with a package, and opened it, finding herself quite confused as to where the pins were. "I'm not quite confused as to where the pins were. "I'm not quite sure how to do this…"

"Let me! I know how! A-chan from next-door has a dolly that she puts diapers on," Hinamori stated, taking the diaper from the old woman.

Momo opened the diaper, and sat down on the ground. She opened up the diaper and slipped it under the little ones bottom, pulling on the two tabs, finally fastening them shut.

"Amazing little one!" her granny grinned.

Momo then got up, and hurried off to the kitchen, which caused her granny to move the infant to her arms, rocking him as she did. She heard Hinamori call out from the kitchen. "Granny! I can't reach it!"

"What do you mean by it?" her grandmother asked, watching her granddaughter reach in to get the milk.

"Don't babies drink milk?" Momo asked.

"Well, yes… but silly, cow's milk will upset a baby's tummy," her grandmother sighed. "I'll teach you how to make a baby bottle. Let me find your old baby carrier to put him in."

After the old woman had done what she had said, she found making up baby bottles with her granddaughter to be quite delightful. She then went into the living room and began to feed the tyke.

"Aren't you a greedy little one," the grandmother commented, smiling as she did so.

"Aren't you a greedy little one, Shiro-chan," Momo repeated.

"Oh… sweetie… babies hair colors don't always stay the same…" came the humored smile.

"Oh…" the small girl watched as the eyes suddenly opened up, revealing vivid teal green. "We can call him Emerald of Jade."

"Oh… those aren't Japanese… and they're girl's names. How about Toshiro for a name," the granny suggested.

"What a pretty name," the girl stated, then hurried off to get a piece of paper and crayon.

"Are you going to draw a picture of the baby?"

"Eh… no…" Momo stated. "It's a letter to Santa."

"I thought you got what you wanted?" her grandmother asked.

"Yeah, but baby is too little to write his own," the girl sighed. Finally, she brought her special list to show grandma.

_dir santa clas  
babe needs tings  
babe tois  
blanket  
ruber duke  
wa wa  
dipors  
fod_

"This is a nice list," her grandmother smiled, hoping they would find some way for them to be allowed to keep the small tyke, for Momo's sake…

_Author's note -  
__**Challenge – **__I wrote this for my challenge forum, and I am hoping that a few other people will take up some of the challenges… fingers crossed. The challenge is to write a fanfic about Toshiro, his grandmother, and Christmas… more details in forum! :)  
__**Momo and Toshiro Related – **__There is neither proof in canon that they are, or that they are not. This came to my attention, when someone asked me, what will some of the Toshiro/Momo fans do if it were to come out at the end that they were related. I won't mention her name, because she is a fan and writer for that pairing, and I don't wish for some of the rabid fans to flame her._


End file.
